Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Evie / Joe

Spoilers

After spending almost 12 years watching The Walking Dead, and two spinoffs, Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1 was a breath of fresh air.

Telling a concise story, complete with thrilling characters, events, and acting, is an excellent way to expand the world and the mythology.

It would have been nice to meet some existing characters on the premiere, but this new spinoff managed to craft a compelling take on the apocalypse by giving us two new characters.

Evie and Joe's Mission - Tales of the Walking Dead

In the real world, Evie (Olivia Munn) and Joe (Terry Crews) would not get along and would probably avoid each other like the plague.

They have very different ideals, and watching them get into deadly scenarios as they navigated these deeply rooted differences made for a fun hour.

Terry Crews as Joe and Olivia Munn as Eve

Crews is known for infusing his work with comedy, and when you’re dealing with an apocalyptic backdrop, it helps break the monotony of characters constantly looking over their shoulders.

It could be said that both Joe and Eve are too naive for this dead world because they made some sloppy decisions along the way.

Evie: This couldn’t have happened at a better time. The weather’s still good, and honestly, you answered my prayers. Now, I don’t want you to feel that, when I leave, that you got a raw deal. This place is end-times-ready. There’s a greenhouse on a greywater system, with lots of organic vegetables. Although, I know everything’s organic now, right? But, you know, we were organic before that. We also have a ton of weed plants. Natch. It’s one of my hobbies. Look, I don’t want to be too Pollyanna, but if there was ever an ideal situation to have your bike stolen, I mean, this is it.
Joe: Good luck driving it.
Evie: Oh, you think because I have two X chromosomes, I can’t handle a hog? I’ve had worse between my legs.
Joe: It’s got a kill switch. Designed by moi.
Evie: And now I know, so I’ll figure it out, Monsieur.
Joe: But you won’t.
Evie: Well, then you just became my involuntary chauffeur. Once you get me to wherever I need to go, you can take off. Besides… it’s not a request.
Joe: That doesn’t seem like a vegan’s kind of gun.
Evie: Well, I haven’t gone vegan yet.
Joe: Why do you want to leave here anyway?
Evie: Why did you leave your place?
Joe: How do you know I had one?
Evie: Because you’re clean. And your bike has some pretty impressive mods, which would have been hard to do after the world went down. Am I warm?
Joe: Which is why I’m still here kickin’ and most everyone else isn’t. No one believed this could happen. No one ever thinks bad things will happen. But I was prepared, and I made sure I stayed far enough away so nobody who wasn’t couldn’t come crying to me.
Evie: Happy story, Mr. Sunshine.

The first rule in this universe is to not leave your belongings out in the open for the world’s prying eyes to see.

When the world falls, it becomes a tale of survival, and it’s hard to imagine these two surviving if they trust everyone they come into contact with.

Undead Friendship - Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1

I appreciated the show wanted to highlight that people are not who they say they are on the internet.

There were many directions this tale could take, but I didn’t peg Sandra as crazy when we first met her.

Yes, I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, but there was a sense of satisfaction from Joe when he met this woman after such a long time talking.

Even if Sandra didn’t try to kill him, would their relationship have flourished away from the internet?

A New Plan - Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1

They had become so accustomed to being alone that it would have been a challenging change for them.

Joe had the companionship of his beautiful dog until it was brutally killed during an ambush by the undead, so a part of Joe clearly wanted to fill that void in his life with Sandra.

It makes you question whether he would have been compelled to find this woman had his dog not died.

On the surface, Joe had the perfect post-apocalyptic life. He had a safe place to call home and had prepared for the end of the world before it actually happened.

Cake for Joe - Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1

There were themes of loneliness peppered throughout the hour, and maybe that’s what also helped pull Joe and Evie together.

The witty one-liners between them from the moment they met really elevated the episode, boasting a lighthearted tone that’s rarely seen in this universe.

The first few months down here were tough. Not the staying alive part. That was easy. Obviously, I was prepared.

Sandra

Evie’s mission was considerably murkier, but it highlighted the fact that even though these people may be different, there are things that people can agree on, and what they agreed on here was survival.

Evie could have gone on her sweet merry way, leaving Joe’s fate up in the air, but they formed a strong bond in their short time with one another.

Joe Takes Aim - Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1

Sandra being this deranged killer was a big swing that took me some time to wrap my head around, but as I said earlier, the message appears to have been that she is not the same person Joe spoke to online.

You would think the brush with death in the bunker would have made Joe and Evie steal what remained of Sandra’s home and keep it for themselves.

It was the highest-spec bunker I’ve ever seen, but the intent from the writers was clearly to show that Joe was no longer a shut-in, and that Evie, and by extension, Sandra helped him understand there was more to life than that.

The fun part is that these two characters are now traversing the zombie wasteland, complete with an animal.

On the Bike - Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1

Optimism in this universe is hard to come by, and I dare say their worldviews will be completely and utterly changed if we ever meet up with them again.

Joe: What’ll happen first: the world ends or I pay off my shelter? DotTheEye, my hubs would leave me if he knew I upgraded to a platinum bunker. My sister thinks I’m too depressed. Let me tell ya, she’s the one who’s not seeing things clearly. You and I, we’re just getting ready. My husband, Tom, he passed last month. I’m alone now. I’m so sorry. But you got me. Digitally, at least. You’re the only one who gets me. Let’s meet IRL. feel the same. But meeting? Are you afraid? Goddamn coward.

With Fear the Walking Dead, Isle of the Dead, the Daryl spinoff, and the Rick & Michonne spinoff, there are possibilities here that all of these people could show back up down the line.

As a series premiere, “Evie / Joe” managed to craft a compelling story, tone, and everything you’d expect from a zombie drama.

This series, more than the others, will tackle specific themes throughout each episode, and that should keep things fresh and exciting for the duration of the season — and possibly beyond.

Taking a Page from Another Book - Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1

What did you think of Evie and Joe’s journey?

Do you think they’ll land somewhere terrifying after waltzing into the unknown?

There’s nothing wrong with getting older. Come on. Let’s finish this outside.

Do you think they should have stayed put in Sandra’s bunker?

Will you check out the other episodes of Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1?

Questioning Their Next Move - Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 1

Hit the comments.

Return to TV Fanatic on Monday for a post-mortem interview with Terry Crews.

Catch new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC. Catch episodes a week earlier on AMC+.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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